1936-75 Cadillac town car

[Cadillac Fan]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1936-cadillac-75/
 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Cadillac Fan (see edit history)

[suchan]

Beautiful car.

Nice to see in some color other than black.

Just about zero legroom with the jump seats open. Basically a quirky five-passenger sedan.

[deac]

Beautiful automobile!

[Cadillac Fan]

I have seen this car in person and it is very nice.  An older restoration, but it has held up very well.  
 

1936 is an odd year re parts.  One year only block, water pump, carb, etc.  

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Cadillac Fan (see edit history)

[Guest]

Very nice, but for the very real legroom issue pointed out by suchan.

[Matt Harwood]

If it's anything like my Limited or other 7-passenger cars, there is a space in the back of the front seat where the jump seats go when they're stowed. That adds some legroom for the jump seats. Not a lot, but probably enough for a kid. Besides, nobody who has a 7-passenger car uses the jump seats for any length of time or to try to transport adults long distances. I've never carried 7 or 8 people in my limo, although when they were little my sons liked to sit in the jump seats so they could see out the front. This is a complaint looking for a problem, complements of the "experts" at Bring-A-Whiner.

[58L-Y8]

During the period, the chauffeured town car was designed for and intended primarily for the luxurious transport of only two people in the separate and exclusive tonneau.  It was completely about class distinction, not gross passenger capacity.   The jump or occasional fold-out seats were intended for very short term use about town when an additional person had to be accommodated.  That individual might be a family member or friend but more often was an employee of the town car owner.  Perched on the occasional seat separate from the main divan firmly established the different social station of each.   There were strict social conventions to which everyone had to adhere to maintain that social order.  When it comes to body styles, nothing denotes snobbery like an open-front town car...or better yet, a panel brougham.

 

The more spacious seven passenger limousine might also fulfill this role, though just as often could accommodate a full complement of passengers without the rigid social distinctions.  It was perfectly acceptable to take one's colleagues along on the occasional seats, or being more egalitarian, one's retainers as an equal.   

[B Jake Moran]

I don’t often look at BaT auctions because they usually contain too many photos but the one issue I noted with their descriptions is the use of disclaimers such as “supposedly” and “purportedly “ and so on.  Kind of a pet peeve of mine about their descriptions.  

[suchan]

Looks like it has a crank divider window rather than a slider. Jump seats must fold under the front seat somehow.

Experts?

[Matt Harwood]

23 minutes ago, suchan said:

Looks like it has a crank divider window rather than a slider. Jump seats must fold under the front seat somehow.

Experts?

 

There's a cut-out in the back of the driver's seat approximately the size and depth of the folded jump seat, and a recessed area in the floor approximately the depth of the support structure. That's to accommodate the seat when it's folded to make it flush. This car has an upholstered flap hanging down that hides the jump seat, which is why it looks like there's no leg room. That's just a flap of fabric with some cardboard in it so it can either be lifted out of the way or pushed forward with one's knees when you're sitting there. It's not a hard wall at knee level. My Limited doesn't have those flaps, but many 7P cars with jump seats do. It's just to make it look cleaner when the seats are stowed and creates the illusion that there's no compartment in that area. There's probably 6-8 inches of space recessed in the back of the seat and a well maybe 4 inches deep for your feet.

 

The divider window goes down, and likely slides in front of those recessed areas (taking up room that could otherwise be given to the chauffeur). It may just go down on top of them, depending on how tall the glass is--it might fit in the space between the tops of those jump seat nooks and the top of the divider.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

11 minutes ago, suchan said:

Looks like it has a crank divider window rather than a slider. Jump seats must fold under the front seat somehow.

Experts?

The partition window is slightly angled to parallel the front seat back which itself it stationary and rather upright angled.  The window moves down at enough angle so the jump seats which with the backrest folded tight against the seat cushion then tilt forward into that tight space usually with a slight bit of the upholstered bottom still visible in the compartment but not intruding a great deal.    To have the partition in a vertical position requires a more generous compartments which some longer longer wheelbase bodies have.   This 1936 Cadillac 75 town car is on a 138" wheelbase.  

[deaddds]

The ad says the restoration was in the last 20 years but the aaca senior badge is 1987. My math sucks.

[Cadillac Fan]

My guess is that it was restored in the mid 80s with a repaint in the lat 1990s or early 2000s. 
 

 

 

[K8096]

Here’s a picture of it circa 1960.   It was originally all black.  This is the same car. 
 

 

Edited June 17, 2021 by K8096 (see edit history)

[suchan]

This is an angle I didn't see in any of the BAT photos. Thanks for sharing.

Nice proportions for a town car.

Too bad there are so many interruptions in the lines, but that goes with the body style, I guess.

Edited June 17, 2021 by suchan
spelling (see edit history)

[Guest]

Looks very sharp in black.

[Cadillac Fan]

2 hours ago, K8096 said:

Here’s a picture of it circa 1960.   It was originally all black.  This is the same car. 
 

 

Yes, the door handle sag is the same.   The front sagging more than the rear. 

[car crazy]

The older I get, the more I appreciate these cars from the classic era. Long may they be preserved.

Edited June 17, 2021 by car crazy (see edit history)